Cry me a river

[Jaded No More 68,913]

I’m sick and tired of the bitching and the moaning that’s been happening here lately.

I understand that barracking for this club is difficult. But support cannot be conditional.

There is no doubt that we, as a club, have a lot of problems.

Our administration is struggling to keep up with a minute number of membership orders, and we are starving for more support. We have little to no money, which means we can’t spend big on advertising campaigns to lure new members. We’ve reached a point where, if I was working as a marketer for the club, I would use fear tactics to get people to buy memberships and turn up to games. Better to beg, than die.

While we’re trying to think big with our mission to China, we can’t even get decent numbers to games in Melbourne. We struggle to do the basic things right, our ex- CEO has let 70% of his staff members walk out in the past few years, and we don’t even have a ground to regularly train on during the summer.

But our biggest problem, are our pathetic supporters. Melbourne fans are a fickle bunch. Their support is dependent on on-field results, our clash strip and the plastic pen you get with your membership.

When things go pear-shaped, you need support more than anything. As individuals, we’ve all been through bad times, and we’ve all looked towards the people in our lives to help us. But if we as supporters can’t be there for the Melbourne Football Club, than what hope have we got of making it to the end of the season, let alone to our 200^th birthday?

I wish I could get every person in Australia who fancies themselves as a Melbourne supporter in the one room, and give them a serious piece of my mind and a good smack around the ears. But I can’t.

What I can do is come to Demonland and find other REAL supporters, who turn up to games, buy memberships, and who love this club like they love their mother/wife/child/dog/shoes... maybe more.

It is our responsibility to ensure that this club never loses their fight to survive. We might not win the battle, but as long as we’re still fighting, we’ve got a chance at getting better and stronger.

Buy a membership, turn up to games even if you know we won’t win, wear your scarf to games, harass other supporters to sign up and or shut up. And most importantly, don’t give up on the club.

Hopefully a new CEO can get the club to fine-tune all the really important, basic, fundamental things. Hopefully our new coach can get us some on-field success. But until that happens, hold tight and don’t let go.

If the desperados of Demonland give up hope, we might as well pack up our one training bike and call it a day.

[Guest Schtacker]

I’m sick and tired of the bitching and the moaning that’s been happening here lately.

I understand that barracking for this club is difficult. But support cannot be conditional.

There is no doubt that we, as a club, have a lot of problems.

Our administration is struggling to keep up with a minute number of membership orders, and we are starving for more support. We have little to no money, which means we can’t spend big on advertising campaigns to lure new members. We’ve reached a point where, if I was working as a marketer for the club, I would use fear tactics to get people to buy memberships and turn up to games. Better to beg, than die.

While we’re trying to think big with our mission to China, we can’t even get decent numbers to games in Melbourne. We struggle to do the basic things right, our ex- CEO has let 70% of his staff members walk out in the past few years, and we don’t even have a ground to regularly train on during the summer.

But our biggest problem, are our pathetic supporters. Melbourne fans are a fickle bunch. Their support is dependent on on-field results, our clash strip and the plastic pen you get with your membership.

When things go pear-shaped, you need support more than anything. As individuals, we’ve all been through bad times, and we’ve all looked towards the people in our lives to help us. But if we as supporters can’t be there for the Melbourne Football Club, than what hope have we got of making it to the end of the season, let alone to our 200^th birthday?

I wish I could get every person in Australia who fancies themselves as a Melbourne supporter in the one room, and give them a serious piece of my mind and a good smack around the ears. But I can’t.

What I can do is come to Demonland and find other REAL supporters, who turn up to games, buy memberships, and who love this club like they love their mother/wife/child/dog/shoes... maybe more.

It is our responsibility to ensure that this club never loses their fight to survive. We might not win the battle, but as long as we’re still fighting, we’ve got a chance at getting better and stronger.

Buy a membership, turn up to games even if you know we won’t win, wear your scarf to games, harass other supporters to sign up and or shut up. And most importantly, don’t give up on the club.

Hopefully a new CEO can get the club to fine-tune all the really important, basic, fundamental things. Hopefully our new coach can get us some on-field success. But until that happens, hold tight and don’t let go.

If the desperados of Demonland give up hope, we might as well pack up our one training bike and call it a day.

As long as the club still exists I will buy a membership and turn up every game I possibly can

The sad fact is each of us as individuals can only do so much

What is said in here is a separate matter.. I for one would stop reading if it was just a bunch of optimists trying to find the positive side of everything.

Obviously your average demon supporter is JADED from years of abuse from the club and we are all wondering when it is our turn

One thing is for sure, on-field success will go a long way to changing attitudes

[Damo 3,355]

Maybe we can sell this new grandstand i just saw.

[1.21 GigaWatts 1]

I started looking at this site a while ago, and I joined soon after that. (Sadly explaining the name, still hurting) I haven't posted in ages being offline for even longer but can I just say this? I put up with my own mothers (Pies fan) crap about being a Melbourne supporter. I hear all the jokes about range rovers and ski fields but the fact of the matter is when I go to the footy, I see passionate melbourne fans. I feel bad that I can't afford the membership fee this year, just moving to Melbourne and starting uni it's not easy. I've always signed up for country membership and wasted the available games but be assured I'll be at every game this year just through ticket price, and the fact that I can't immediately get membership doesn't make me a "fair weather" supporter. The dees have fans, justifiably so. I love the club, and it's painful to be unable to support them for their 150th, but don't judge the fans that can't get a membership. I disagree that we won't iwn the battle. I see us winning battles all year, but I am resigned to not winning the war in 08.

Sub note; Get out there, support Neita. The man cops flak but in the end he's our champion. He's made himself that in the last two years on paper, and through his whole career on the field. Grab back the respect deserved this year!

[praha 11,240]

In my opinion, being able to criticize and want perfection is better then having "faith" and never complaining about things that go astray, especially when $400+ of my money goes to support the club.

I cry a river because I invest in this "business" (and it is a business) and I expect professionalism and success. I despise everything this club has done in the 18 or so years I've supported it. Yet, I still pay my membership, I still attend every game in Melbourne (and the occassional interstate match if my work trips overlap an interstate match) and I still believe, albeit with a strong sense of negetivity, that I will see a premiership before I die (and I'm 21, for anyone who is curious).

Whether I'm in a majority or minority (people who pay up although they are fed up) I don't know, but understand this; we live in a different world then what we once did. Football is no longer just football. It's a business, and people subconciously, although probably unintentionally, look at it as an investment. When they see their investment fail (and, with current player problems, which could classify the failure as perhaps purposely portrayed) they see no reason to renew themselves as members.

Before this club and its small group of die-hards cry a river themselves and say how they need everyone behind them, maybe they should take their fingers out of the back-side and achieve something for once. And I don't mean "being in the running" for a top calibre player. I mean winning something, and justifying my hard-earned money.

I might be discrediting everything that footy is about, and that's passion, faith and support, but that's the hard truth. Clubs are coming undone now by a new generation that has a different perception, and mediocrity will no longer be saved by faith and support. Instead, it will be dealt a blow by logic and anger; it's logical to no longer invest in a company that has no obvious signs of wanting success, and anger through wasting effort, money and emotions.

That's the way it is Jaded. I'll still be here, and so will you, but you need to consider the evolution of society and the way people think. This business has achieved nothing. And it never will until it focuses and puts its foot down on what it wants to achieve. And don't say it has, because if so, it would have achieved that goal over 2002-2006 when it had just as much a chance as the team that did win it.

-end rant.

[Jaded No More 68,913]

Maybe we can sell this new grandstand i just saw.

I'm not taking a grandstand, and I'm sorry if that's how it came across. I'm just so frustrated with all the negativity in the media, within the club and now on here.

People who post here are all passionate, and they have every right to vent their spleen. I do it all the time.

What actually brought this post on, was a conversation I had earlier with a Melbourne supporter. His negative outlook made me so angry, and no matter what I said, he was convinced that there was no hope for the club. "We'll be gone in 5 years time" he kept saying.

Then I read through the posts here and people are complaining about pens and telling us they are not buying a membership because some players made mistakes and it only validates my opinion that our supporter base in general is weak and fickle.

I would say that, at a stretch, there are about 10,000 loyal supporters who will do whatever they can to keep this club going. That is not enough to sustain an AFL club, not even close. And what worries me is that there is so much negativity coming from outside of the club, that is must be, on some level, affecting the mood inside the club.

Empty stands at games, terrible membership numbers, negative media attention... the club really doesn't need all that when they are trying to reposition themselves with a new coach and new administrative department.

As I said, we are far from perfect. In fact, we have a lot of really big issues we have to deal with as a club. But if first and foremost you don't have the outside support of your fans, then why bother? The supporters are the bloodlines of all clubs, and at the moment it really feels like we don't have any. It's incredibly frustrating!

the fact that I can't immediately get membership doesn't make me a "fair weather" supporter.

If you turn up to games, you are financially or otherwise supporting the club. Therefore you are not a 'fair weather' supporter.

My point was that everyone who visits this site is generally very passionate about the club, so when such negativity creeps into everything on here, it really is a bad sign.

That's the way it is Jaded. I'll still be here, and so will you, but you need to consider the evolution of society and the way people think. This business has achieved nothing. And it never will until it focuses and puts its foot down on what it wants to achieve. And don't say it has, because if so, it would have achieved that goal over 2002-2006 when it had just as much a chance as the team that did win it.

I'm not naive. I understand how business works, and I'm in a business which is just as fickle as football.

But have a look at where Carlton or Richmond are at with their membership and their supporters. These two clubs have done a lot less than we have in the past 3-4 years, but they still have a huge supporter base that remains loyal to them. Now I don't know, maybe their supporters are just dumb because they are only guided by their passion. To me, that element has to stay in the game. Value for money is important, sure, but if your perception of value comes down to how many victories you get to see every year, than how can the club rely on your support (I don't mean you in particular)?

Our supporter base is not as big as Carlton or Richmond's and it probably won't ever reach their size. But there is no reason why, we couldn't get 30,000 members every single year. 30,000 is a very small number when you consider the 20,000,000+ who live on this continent. That we've set this target, but can't achieve it, is sad.

And it's not just the fault of the supporters, it's the club's fault too. There is no sense of urgency, and there is no order. That's a real problem which I hope our new CEO can address.

But what it comes down to is not how much money you spend on the club, or how many games you attend each year. What it comes down to is, how much do you actually care about the survival and the fortune of the MFC? I can't fathom losing something that I passionately love, because there are so many people out there who could be contributing and making this club better, but they don't. It would be a tragedy if we ever face a situation where we have to fold, merge or relocated, but if not enough people care, than it's not a question of if, it's a question of when.

[JCash 0]

In my opinion, being able to criticize and want perfection is better then having "faith" and never complaining about things that go astray, especially when $400+ of my money goes to support the club.

I cry a river because I invest in this "business" (and it is a business) and I expect professionalism and success. I despise everything this club has done in the 18 or so years I've supported it. Yet, I still pay my membership, I still attend every game in Melbourne (and the occassional interstate match if my work trips overlap an interstate match) and I still believe, albeit with a strong sense of negetivity, that I will see a premiership before I die (and I'm 21, for anyone who is curious).

Whether I'm in a majority or minority (people who pay up although they are fed up) I don't know, but understand this; we live in a different world then what we once did. Football is no longer just football. It's a business, and people subconciously, although probably unintentionally, look at it as an investment. When they see their investment fail (and, with current player problems, which could classify the failure as perhaps purposely portrayed) they see no reason to renew themselves as members.

Before this club and its small group of die-hards cry a river themselves and say how they need everyone behind them, maybe they should take their fingers out of the back-side and achieve something for once. And I don't mean "being in the running" for a top calibre player. I mean winning something, and justifying my hard-earned money.

I might be discrediting everything that footy is about, and that's passion, faith and support, but that's the hard truth. Clubs are coming undone now by a new generation that has a different perception, and mediocrity will no longer be saved by faith and support. Instead, it will be dealt a blow by logic and anger; it's logical to no longer invest in a company that has no obvious signs of wanting success, and anger through wasting effort, money and emotions.

That's the way it is Jaded. I'll still be here, and so will you, but you need to consider the evolution of society and the way people think. This business has achieved nothing. And it never will until it focuses and puts its foot down on what it wants to achieve. And don't say it has, because if so, it would have achieved that goal over 2002-2006 when it had just as much a chance as the team that did win it.

-end rant.

18 or so years and your 21 hmm what the hell were you doing the other 3 years?

I'll side with Jaded here, yeah we have problems but so what so do all clubs and mate if your pissing and moaning about 400 bucks maybe you should get a decent job or cheaper membership...

[1.21 GigaWatts 1]

Well I lashed out a little jaded. The optimist in me suggests that other supporters that can't get memberships still turn up to games. I know crowd sizes are indicative of the contrary but you know I just don't meet Melbourne supporters. I've started to believe that they're just not out there. We've had a patchy history over the last decade (arguments?) and yet look on youtube and you see amazing highlight reels. Genuine excitement, passion and (for those who've stayed true) talent. I don't see our onfield success, or lack of, as a reason for the deminished supporter base. Nor so I see the coaches as a reason. It's marketing. Where're the kids at the footy wearing #5 or #9 on their backs? As a club we're annoymous. A guy at home can inspire more with home equipment than someone with an entire companies marketing budget at their feet. I blame marketing. It's the only qualm I have with the club. Our players play, our coaches coach and our marketers... ummm.... they hang out and do... stuff?

[dees_rule_4eva 22]

Jaded, I applaud your passion and I agree entirely with everything you have said. You and me think very similar things about this club and the supporters (or so-called supporters). I am a member, have been since I was 2 and I'm now 23. I will be a member for the rest of my life - but here is the sad thing. I have mates - I can think of 9 off the top of my head - that are Melbourne fans. Only 3 of them are paid up members. The other guys can afford it, no worries about that, but they are of the opinion that they should not pay to watch a club with a losing culture.

This is the problem.

The Melbourne footy club has a large proportion of supporters who have this [censored]-weak attitude. My Dad is the same, and he is only a member because I harrassed him into it. There are too many people who just pass up the opportunity to join as members, and think to themselves "ah, its fine, they dont need my money - they dont deserve it anyway". Well I wonder how those people would feel if this club ceased to exist. I would hope and expect that there would be a gaping hole in their life. I know there would be for me.

The people who come onto this website are obviously passionate supporters, or else they wouldnt be posters. And I am assuming that at least 80% are paid up members. It is the other 20% that continues to help the demise of the Melbourne Football Club. And for that, they should be ashamed.

[Jaded No More 68,913]

Well I lashed out a little jaded. The optimist in me suggests that other supporters that can't get memberships still turn up to games. I know crowd sizes are indicative of the contrary but you know I just don't meet Melbourne supporters. I've started to believe that they're just not out there. We've had a patchy history over the last decade (arguments?) and yet look on youtube and you see amazing highlight reels. Genuine excitement, passion and (for those who've stayed true) talent. I don't see our onfield success, or lack of, as a reason for the deminished supporter base. Nor so I see the coaches as a reason. It's marketing. Where're the kids at the footy wearing #5 or #9 on their backs? As a club we're annoymous. A guy at home can inspire more with home equipment than someone with an entire companies marketing budget at their feet. I blame marketing. It's the only qualm I have with the club. Our players play, our coaches coach and our marketers... ummm.... they hang out and do... stuff?

I completely agree with this point.

Our marketing is very poor, and when you consider our ex CEO was the editor of one of the largest newspapers in Australia, and our president has an advertising agency, it really is a worry.

Lets not get ahead of ourselves here. Most marketing is expensive and time-consuming. TV ads probably don't pay in the long-run, but there are a lot of ways to get free publicity. There is also a huge market out there that we haven't tapped into, and that's Gen Z, or tweens, whatever you like to call them. Kids that age will pretty much buy into anything, and they are huge spenders when you consider they have next to no income. Companies of all kinds and sizes are basing their entire marketing campaigns on this market segment alone.

Having been in the wilderness for a long time, it seems reasonable that the older generations who supported this club, could not keep the support going with their kids or their grandkids. As a consequence new support has dried up.

Appealing to younger generations could be as simple as running some footy clinics at schools and handing our freebies. Most kids probably won't care whether we win or lose, they're more likely to be attracted to the colours, the song, the demon mascot (RIP?).

All in all, the marketing and the incentives for new supporters to come on board are nearly non-existant. On the other hand, you would hope that loyal, long-time members wouldn't need incentives to get on board. It would be fantastic if we had 30,000 fans who signed up every single year, and not just turned up on Queens birthday. I always wonder where the hell these people have been hiding, and why they decide to come out of the woodwork when we play Collingwood... and this is generally irrelevant of our ladder position.

[beelzebub 23,364]

I must confess...i find the whole thig quite amusing. I applaud passion and committment..Like past years i also will hand over money without any real value attached.. ( I for one reason or another only get to about 4-5 games a year) I Consider it a donation really; gott love the pens though hey !! ( the one the other year was great...lol ) .

There is no ONE way to barrack for a club. We all bring something a little different. We also probably have differing expectations. I also am , fo rmine . a littel sick of someone, anyone telling me how or how not I should support this club. I do what suits me.. If it doesn t suit you...or you..or you..over there ..SHOVE IT !! Ive done my pennance..Ifolowed this team through a lot of thin with very little thick. But I do love dear Ol' Melbourne. if it disappears it wil have no one but itslef to blame.. not the supporters but the club. Like all adults the club must eventually take ownership of its malaise. We dont run it . it does. it makes some vey strange ( to me ) decisions. I think as a busines its a fairly bad role model of achievement, as a club its stoic.

There inlays its problem.. its duality. It wants to be this "tradition' but its forgotten what that tradition was. We hang on to the fading rags of achieveent at all cost lest we too fade into the dirt.

Its all very well to castigate the many for 'bitching" and I undestand the emotion attached. but its not our fault..I dount any of us here ever put on a Red and Blue in true anger and fought the good battle. We are "spectators" and by defintion we SPECTATE.. we wach.. we observe and from that comes commentary.

AFL footy is no walk in the park, its business. Not necessarly the business of winning ( but that is the goal) its the buisness of remaining relevent to the competition. If we are to be so we need to change our modus operandi.

Actually...I think we are..but like the shampoo it wont happen overnight. I think some serious gremlins have been isolated and ridded of. There needs to be more to come.

The cold hard reality is we CANT comehere and discuss ad infinutm our glorious successes !! We're unable to recant how wonderful we are, instead like a starving third worlder we search and hunt for any morsil of salvation , any crumb of dignity within this competition. There arent many.

So is this the fault of us.. the folk in hte grandstands ?? I cant really see how.

At last it sems mediocrity before the field wont be accepted. How long before similar mediocrity ON the field wil be a thing of the past ?

Please gentle person, fellow Demon dont confuse impatience, disgust and scorn for any lack of passion for the prior cant exist without the latter.

In all reality I am fairly amazed we exist at all. In the cruel 'real ' world we would have fallen over many years ago.

Im a spectator. Im not disillusioned. Im pretty sure I have a square understanding of what this team IS. I also know what it means to me. I also have a confession.. if it went tomorrow, I'd be sad; but I'd carry on as its ( prepare for heresy ) only Football.. there is more to life.. And because there is more to life if an industry, if a member of that click want my undivided attention and money ( like Calabrese ) Id like some sort of return on it.. Premierships? be nice.. but not necessary as Ive lived all my barracking life without one.. so big deal. No..all I ask is this club takes it as seriously as we all seem to here. Actually ..that the players take it as seriously as we do.. They are the ones who's pretence at honour of jumper is supposedly worth something...then let them show me..Im calling the markers in.. I want something.

I just want to be able to respect the team I barrack for...surely thats not too much to ask?

And if they cant provide that..then they have my unreserved comtempt. The only thing I give unconditionally is love to my kids.. I give my friends my understanding... all others better have a case to show..

[mo64 5,874]

Those of you in your early 20's, witnessed us playing in finals since birth. Some of us have endured decades without making the finals, let alone a premiership.

If we believe that some happenings at the club, whether they be on-field or off-field, will lead us back into those barren lands, we are entitled to voice our concerns.

Acceptance of mediocrity is a far greater crime, than voicing one's concerns.

[1.21 GigaWatts 1]

Lovin that you mention Queens birthday. That was the game I ALWAYS went to. (As I said, Mum's a Pie so she took me) But (to save the censorship) Gee Whiz!! What was that I read about showbags for the first 500 kids. Ah [censored] the censorship. That's gutless! It's a [censored]-weak effort from the club and if we want this club to survive, to hell with memberships, it's putting last things first. Let's build a supporter base. MAKE Brock McLean play kick to kick with a school kid, allow Davey to race the fastest grade 6 kid, and for God's sake supply whoever turns up with what they want... Freaking RED AND BLUE!!!! Ah to hell with it, this is old hat, i'm repeating myself through annoyance.

[beelzebub 23,364]

To paraphrase...

If you play it, they will come. play what ? decent footy !! who's they..Supoorters..

Its simply not a human endeavour to support failure!!

[Jaded No More 68,913]

Those of you in your early 20's, witnessed us playing in finals since birth. Some of us have endured decades without making the finals, let alone a premiership.

If we believe that some happenings at the club, whether they be on-field or off-field, will lead us back into those barren lands, we are entitled to voice our concerns.

Acceptance of mediocrity is a far greater crime, than voicing one's concerns.

I don't think I'm accepting mediocrity. In fact, I've been quite clearly venting my spleen about the club's problems in this thread, and on many others. I hate that we're crap, believe me, there is no pleasure in feeling like your pity is required as much as your support. We are not in a good position right now, there is absolutely no two ways about it.

We're not winning and we're not making money, so basically we're failing our two main purposes.

But what good does it do to stick the boot in? It's like we're spitting on the club when it's down in the dumps, instead of rallying around and saying "this year, I need to help our more than ever". And yes, it does seem like that saying is thrown around every year, but until we can get a consistent membership number, we can't really move anywhere.

We go into a season without a clue as to where we'll stand financially at the end of the year, because who knows what fickle Melbourne fans will do if we're 0-5 on the ladder.

See, it's a vicious cycle. We have poor memberships and attendances. As a result, sponsors don't come on board which is probably where the big money is. So we have no money, which means we don't have the extra cash to throw around our marketing, membership and most importantly our footy departments. And so we suffer, year after year, as the cycle of poverty continues.

The thing is, big sponsors won't come on board unless we have the memberships and the attendances, that will never change. That means that the cycle will only be broken if supporters consistently put into the club, even if there is no immediate reward. If you don't have a solid foundation of followers, you have nothing. Players come and go, as do administrators and CEOs, but loyalty is forever.

To paraphrase...

If you play it, they will come. play what ? decent footy !! who's they..Supoorters..

Its simply not a human endeavour to support failure!!

They weren't exactly breaking down the doors in a mad rush when we were winning and playing finals either.

Nothing and no-one is 100% successful all of the time, but we haven't exactly been collecting wooden spoons in the last few years either. How appropriate that as soon as we have one down year, after 3 fairy good years (acceptance of mediocrity, yes I know), we struggle to get 20,000 members to sign up before Round 1.

[beelzebub 23,364]

But what good does it do to stick the boot in?

Maybe like a collective Howard Beale of sorts..if we all say : "we're as mad as hell ( appropriate..lol ) and we're not going to take this any more " !!

maybe the club might notice ?

[Rogue 585]

I feel bad that I can't afford the membership fee this year, just moving to Melbourne and starting uni it's not easy. I've always signed up for country membership and wasted the available games but be assured I'll be at every game this year just through ticket price, and the fact that I can't immediately get membership doesn't make me a "fair weather" supporter.

Is there some sort of monthly payment system available for MFC membership? There is for AFL Membership. You'll end up forking out more $ in ticket prices than you would buying a membership, but I understand it can be tough to pay it all in a lump sum. If there isn't some method of paying the membership off over the season, perhaps bring that up with the Club - I know your situation isn't unique.

[beelzebub 23,364]

#16

dont beat yourself up.. Apply reason.. you have probaly greater priorities in life than a foottball membership. Yes it might be nice, but what sort of insane world does this become if you cant let that slide inorder toatend more importnat things...

Go along to the games you can,,support the Dees ..as you can.. feel no shame for no ticket. .if thats what it comes down to then some folk have very strange life standards !!

[DemonWorshipper 304]

I agree with so many of the opinions voiced in this thread, but in the end I am firmly in Jaded's corner here. The last couple of weeks of reading the threads on this great site has left feeling quite bemused about the attitude of our supporters. A lot of the negativity has been bred in part by the publicity we have achieved in the practice match period yet right there is where the reality kicks in for me. We are yet to see a ball kicked for premiership points and 08 and yet many on here seem ready to shut up shop. Are we really that keen to eat our own.

Where I have had a problem is that the faces of our future leadership, Brock McLean and Colin Sylvia, have been lax in there attitude toward off-field issues and we are also yet to appoint a new CEO. This does not add to anything to our public image. From what I can see though, this is current pain for future gain. Brock and Col have been told they need to wake up to themselves and this has been plastered across the papers as such. This was a necessary approach IMO because if we are to succeed on-field, we need to be cohesive and this needs to be a player led effort. Off field, At an administrative level, we are still better off than we were when Szondy and Ellis held court and if we able to take this pain now in an attempt to push us forward, the club can thrive in an extremely competitive market.

The reality is in front of us now! We are at the bottom of pile in Victoria at the moment, and with the Cats tasting glory last year, we now have the second longest premiership drought in the competition. We are by no means done and dusted as a competitive entity but this is our starting point. Years of poor management and a "she'll be right, mate' attitude have put us here, But from what I can see we have the tools in front of us to repair the damage. It's important though that we are able to maintain our current membership base for it to grow. For me, that is well and truly worth a couple of hundred dollars a year. If we don't stay with it as supporters and members, we're F***ed !!

[Jarka 767]

What right does someone have to give me advice on how I spend my heard earnt cash?

As they say in the airline industry, Foxtrot Oscar...

[Bring-Back-Powell 14,817]

Perhaps its time for Paul Gardener to be a little more proactive about making this club better - rather than sitting and back and taking the AFL's distribution handouts as if we have a god-given right to it.

I feel it's time for someone (who is bitterly conerned about the future of MFC and loves Melbourne) to take over the club, and be proactive like North. North are doing everything right at the moment.

[praha 11,240]

18 or so years and your 21 hmm what the hell were you doing the other 3 years?

Being an infant.

[Gouga 569]

I feel it's time for someone (who is bitterly conerned about the future of MFC and loves Melbourne) to take over the club, and be proactive like North. North are doing everything right at the moment.

Is Garry Lyon the man?

[beelzebub 23,364]

Is Garry Lyon the man?

funny..that was my thought exactly !!! Perfect !!!

[Dee Fan 3,247]

Perhaps its time for Paul Gardener to be a little more proactive about making this club better - rather than sitting and back and taking the AFL's distribution handouts as if we have a god-given right to it.

I feel it's time for someone (who is bitterly conerned about the future of MFC and loves Melbourne) to take over the club, and be proactive like North. North are doing everything right at the moment.

Perhaps you are right perhaps it's time, as was stated in an earlier post, to move on from the Glory Years gone by.

Maybe we should be looking at a training base in the Burbs where we can grow our support base among the locals, maybe we should forget the idea of clinging to the MCG where we will never be able to train or claim it as "our ground", it's not, there are half a dozen clubs that play there now. There is a ground in Moorabbin that is soon to be vacant and that's just about where our main supporter base is, why not there? We as a club are stuck in the past and even tin pot clubs like Hawthorn are roaring by us, they are innovative we are reactionary, even our coaching has been that way in the past few years. Let's pour our money in to something that we can call our own, let's not live in the past and fight with Collingwood supporters about who's Ground the G is that battle has been lost already.

We are going down the tubes because no one respects us and it is clear why, we don't deserve it, we don’t have supporters we don’t have a home, we are becoming the Fitzroy of the 2000’s. We are unable to stir the imagination of the younger brigade because we haven't had success or players that they can look up to and the older brigade are just sick of waiting. We must win a flag and soon, finals appearances with no hope of winning just don’t cut it anymore.

This thread is just one of many where we have all had our collective say and unfortunately it will resolve nothing, the only people that can do anything in the short term are the players the coaches and the board. There has to be change however because as indicated Football is a business and as with any business if you don’t achieve success you will fall over. There are 2 new clubs to be included shortly and this will dilute the supporter base even further so we must be in a strong position before they are underway.